BCPB has established its Fellowship Programme as a key part of its mission to fund research and training to prevent blindness in low-income countries.
Aims and Objectives
In developing its Fellowship Programme, BCPB seeks to fulfil the following aims and objectives.
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To respond to the areas of greatest need in the field of global blindness.
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To align with the key VISION 2020 objectives, in particular human resource development, in order to build the eye care infrastructure at all levels in low-income countries.
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To build and disseminate practical knowledge about how best to prevent blindness.
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To foster partnerships between developing and developed world institutions, in order to spread knowledge and skills to where they are most needed.
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Before reading this section, please refer to the 'Definitions' section in the Terms and
Conditions of grant below.
1. Research projects
Candidates' research projects must further the goals of VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, the elimination of avoidable blindness worldwide. Please see www.v2020.org for further information.
2. Candidates for Fellowships
BCPB plans to award Fellowships in 2013 to be named as follows:
‘Sir John Wilson Fellow’ for a Fellow from overseas and
‘Barrie Jones Fellow’ for a Fellow from the UK .
Candidates for such Fellowships must be clinicians or scientists from the UK or overseas.
Overseas candidates must be nationals of low-income countries.
Clinicians must be specialising in ophthalmology and intending to pursue a career that includes academic research or teaching or both. Except in exceptional circumstances, clinicians will be required to register for an MD (two-year Fellowship) or a PhD (three-year
Fellowship).
Normally, non-clinical candidates will be post-doctoral scientists whose work contributes towards the aims of VISION 2020, for example epidemiologists, health economists, or public health specialists.
3. Applicants for Grants
The applicant for a Fellowship grant will be the candidate's proposed host institution and not the candidate. Any Fellowship grant made by BCPB will be made to the successful candidate's host institution.
All candidates must apply jointly with a supervisor who holds an established academic post in the candidate's proposed host institution, which must be a UK university, research institution or research-active NHS Trust. As these are training posts, it will be a condition of the Fellowship grant that the candidate's supervisor will provide supervision throughout the
Fellowship, and must therefore have a post that extends at least as long as the Fellowship.
For candidates from overseas, the host institution must ensure that the candidate’s oral and written English is of a sufficiently high standard.
4. Calculation of the Grant
Subject to the Trustees' absolute discretion as to its value or calculation, any Fellowship grant will normally be calculated by reference to the candidate's proposed salary at the appropriate level plus fees, travel, equipment and research expenses, up to a maximum of
£63,333 per annum for a maximum of three years. Candidates are referred to paragraph
7d) in the Terms & Conditions below for the circumstances in which a Fellowship grant may exceed £63333 pa after the first year. Candidates and applicants must complete the financial table in the application form.
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BCPB will not normally consider requests for increased grant amounts after the original amount has been agreed, though in exceptional circumstances such requests may be considered.
5. Deadline for applications
Please ensure that you use the correct application form, marked BCPB Fellowships .
The deadline for receipt of applications is 12 October 2012.
All candidates and applicant institutions should apply on the appropriate application form and attach the information requested.
All candidates and applicant institutions should read the Terms and Conditions below before completing and signing the application form.
A signed application form should be sent to the offices of BCPB, at 4 Bloomsbury Square,
London WC1A 2RP and a copy sent by email to info@bcpb.org
. BOTH must be received by
5pm on Friday 12 October 2012. No faxes will be allowed. BCPB will be entitled to reject, without offering a reason, any application arriving after that time.
6. Process of selection
Candidates must satisfy the criteria set out in section 2 (Candidates for Fellowships).
Applicant institutions must meet the criteria set out in section 3 (Applicants for Grants).
Applications will be subject to peer review in line with the AMRC’s recommendations (see http://www.amrc.org.uk/training--research-practice_peer-review for further information). The review will be conducted by an Advisory Panel and the opinions of external referees may be sought. Applicants are entitled to suggest two reviewers whom the Chairman of the Advisory
Panel may approach at his or her discretion. A form for completion is attached to the main application form. Applicants and candidates are asked not to request exclusions of referees except in cases of serious conflict of interest, which must be explained in the application. If it is subsequently found that material information in the application was withheld or was misleading, the Fellowship grant may be terminated by BCPB.
When considering the applicants and candidates, the Advisory Panel will look favourably on overseas candidates who are planning to spend at least nine months of the Fellowship in the
UK, and on UK applicants who are planning to spend at least nine months of the Fellowship overseas.
The Advisory Panel will take into account the scientific merit of the proposed research, its role in furthering the aims of VISION 2020, its relevance to BCPB’s aims (see page 1), and the ability of the candidate. The Advisory Panel will also require that the Fellowship be held at an applicant institution that is regarded as an appropriate academic environment. Priority will be given to applications from applicant institutions that clearly demonstrate their support, whether financial or otherwise, for the candidate and the project.
Short-listed candidates may be invited for interview in London. Reasonable expenses incurred by overseas candidates specifically for the purpose of this application, including economy class airfare and accommodation, will be paid by BCPB.
7. Ethical approval
In all studies involving patients, patient tissue or patient information, BCPB requires a copy of the relevant ethical committee submission. In addition, evidence of approval must be submitted to BCPB before any payment can be made.
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8. Awarding of the Fellowship
Funding will be available from March 2013.
A successful candidate will have six months in which to take up the Fellowship (and the host institution request payment of the grant) after which time the Fellowship grant will be withdrawn. Confirmation of the start date in writing is required before any payments are made under the grant.
Following the award of a grant and Fellowship, the Fellow, their Head of Department and appropriate Administrator or Finance Officer will be required to sign an Undertakings form confirming acceptance of the Terms and Conditions before any payment is released.
Where necessary, UK-based clinical Fellows should obtain permission to hold a Fellowship from the Regional Postgraduate Dean and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
Clinically-qualified Fellows who work with patients must have the authority to do so from an honorary clinical contract at the appropriate level, held at the applicant institution. This must be stated in the application. Clinical Fellows cannot engage in private practice during the award.
Attention is drawn to the need, where appropriate, to provide evidence of Ethical Committee approval, and a copy of the proposal for which approval was sought, to BCPB before any payment is made.
9. Foreign Currency Fluctuations
Candidates intending to pursue research overseas are recommended to include a contingency amount in their budgets to reflect the risk of a decrease in the foreign currency value of their grants owing to Sterling depreciation. The value to be used should be that set by HSBC Bank on the application closing date. The contingency amount should be added to the total cost of the project each year in the projected budget. BCPB will not automatically include an amount to reflect the currency risk in a grant; but where it does, it is prepared thereafter to consider the funding of such risk, excluding the first 5%, up to 95% of the amount set out in the grant. But the inclusion of such an amount in the grant is no guarantee of any additional funding; each case will be considered on its merits. As candidates must bear the first 5% of any decrease, on each occasion, they may wish to consider the likelihood of greater fluctuation over the life of their project when completing the application form.
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1. Definitions
Advisory Panel means a peer review panel constituted from time to time by BCPB Trustees for the purposes of advising them on applications.
Applicant / applicant institution means the candidate's proposed host institution satisfying the criteria in section 3 (Applicants for Grants) of the Information for Candidates and
Applicants 2012 ; and, following a successful application is known as the host institution.
Application means an application in the form as prescribed by BCPB Trustees from time to time under the Fellowship Programme.
Candidate means a person satisfying the criteria in section 2 (Candidates for Fellowships) of the Information for Candidates and Applicants 2012 , joining with an applicant institution to apply for a BCPB Fellowship .
Development means anything resulting from an activity that was wholly or partly funded by a grant under the Research Grant Programme, including, but not limited to, inventions, discoveries, ideas, results, data, materials, prototypes, designs, software, knowhow and documentation.
Fellow means a candidate who has been awarded a BCPB Fellowship .
Fellowship grant means any grant made by BCPB to support a Fellowship under the
Fellowship Programme .
Fellowship Programme means the Prevention of Blindness Fellowship Programme established by BCPB.
Low-income countries means countries listed as VISION 2020 selected countries or other countries situated in sub-Saharan Africa.
Trustees or BCPB Trustees means not less than two of BCPB's trustees.
2. Information for Candidates and Applicants
Paragraphs 1 to 8 of the Information for Candidates and Applicants 2012 above form part of these Terms and Conditions.
3. Trustees’ discretion
Nothing in any material referring to BCPB Fellowships, including these Terms and Conditions
(and the Information for Candidates and Applicants 2012 ), creates any right in anyone to a grant or a Fellowship. The award and value of any Fellowship grant and the award of any
BCPB Fellowship remain in the absolute discretion of the Trustees. The Trustees may decide not to award any grants or Fellowships in any calendar year.
4. Responsibilities of the host institution
In accepting a Fellowship grant from BCPB, the host institution agrees to take full responsibility for a) the management, monitoring and control of the research, together with any insurance or indemnity required; such responsibility extending to ensuring that all ethical and legal requirements relating to the research are met;
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b) providing appropriate training and supervision of the Fellow, the host institution ensuring, in particular, that the Fellow receives training in research methods and health and safety matters; c) ensuring that the facilities made available for the project meet all legal and regulatory requirements including health and safety requirements; appropriate care must be taken when the Fellow is working away from the host institution; d) all liabilities, duties and responsibilities of an employer; and e) ensuring that the Fellow continues to meet all the criteria set out in the Information for
Candidates and Applicants 2012 during the period of the Fellowship.
5. Further obligations of the host institution
In accepting a Fellowship grant from BCPB, the host institution agrees a) to have in place appropriate and effective procedures to minimise the possibility for scientific fraud and misconduct and to investigate any allegations promptly. If a case of fraud or misconduct is suspected in the course of the research, BCPB must be notified immediately and kept informed of progress. b) where relevant, to accept responsibility for ensuring that arrangements for the management and monitoring of clinical trials meet the standards laid out in the MRC
Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice in Clinical Trials and meet all legal requirements and ethical approval. c) to obtain any necessary ethical approval before any research is undertaken. In all studies involving patients, patient tissue or patient information, BCPB requires a copy of the relevant ethical committee submission and approval prior to the first grant payment. d) to ensure that, where a project involves the use of patients or confidential patient records, all concerned will act in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. e) to ensure that, before publication, work undergoes the host institution’s normal procedures for ensuring the validity of the results and the suitability of the research for publication. f) BCPB reserves the right of access to the detailed accounting records relating to the expenditure of grant monies.
6. BCPB and indemnity a) In accepting a Fellowship grant from BCPB, the host institution acknowledges that BCPB
1) is not the employer of the Fellow.
2) is not responsible for any liability whatsoever arising out of the acts or omissions of the Fellow or the host institution or others involved in the project.
3) accepts no responsibility for the validity of the results, nor for any statements made by the authors in publications. b) In accepting a Fellowship grant from BCPB, the host institution fully indemnifies BCPB, its
Trustees and staff against any costs, claims or liabilities suffered or incurred by BCPB as a result of any action brought by the candidate, Fellow or any other individual or organisation.
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7. Financial arrangements a) Grants are provided on condition that all indirect costs are met by the host institution. b) Payments will be made annually on receipt of invoice(s) from the host institution. c) Notwithstanding any published limit on the value of any grant, the Trustees in their absolute discretion may, where appropriate and during the course of the grant, increase the amount to be paid after the first year to cover nationally agreed pay awards and incremental progression on a recognised national pay scale. d) Fellowship grants are not considered to be a taxable supply for VAT purposes. However, for the avoidance of doubt, all amounts specified to be covered by grants and payments are stated inclusive of any VAT that may be payable. e) Fellowship grants are awarded for the period of time requested by the applicant up to a maximum of 3 years. Extensions of time will not normally be approved. f) BCPB and its Trustees accept no responsibility for costs or liabilities incurred in connection with the research funded by a Fellowship other than the costs specifically set out in the
Financial Table on the Application Form. Any variation in this must be approved by BCPB
Trustees. g) In this provision, 'contingency allocation' means an amount, stated specifically as such in a
Fellowship grant, to reflect the risk of a decrease in the foreign currency value of the grant owing to Sterling depreciation. In cases where a contingency allocation is included in a
Fellowship grant, and on each occasion a payment is made, the Trustees in their absolute discretion may pay an additional amount of up to 95% of the contingency allocation. No such additional amount shall be paid where the actual decrease in foreign currency value, on any given occasion, is less than 5% and no such additional amount shall exceed 95% of the contingency allocation. The payment of additional amounts will be cumulative and no further additional payments will be made once the total of payments made is equal to 95% of the contingency allocation.
8. Reports a) Continuation of payments under the Fellowship grant is conditional on the receipt of an annual progress report from the Fellow that shows satisfactory progress and an appropriate standard of research. A template for the progress report will be provided by BCPB and these should be completed by the Fellow and their Academic Supervisor and returned to BCPB by
31 st December of each calendar year of the project b) A Final Report is also required from the Fellow, which must be submitted within three months of completion of the Fellowship. The Final Report must be signed by the Head of
Department at the host institution to confirm the successful completion of the research. c) All reports will be reviewed by the Advisory Panel and the Trustees. They may be used by
BCPB in publicity and communication with donors.
9. Termination events a) The Trustees reserve the right to terminate a Fellowship and any Fellowship grant forthwith and cease to make any further payments under any grant
1) in the event of any major change in the project, particularly if the research objectives are unlikely to be achieved. (BCPB must be consulted in the event that a major change is likely);
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2) if evidence of fraud or misconduct is established to the Trustees' reasonable satisfaction under paragraph 5.a) above;
3) if it is subsequently found that material information in the application was withheld or was misleading; or
4) if either the Fellow or the Fe llow’s host institution is in breach of the terms of the agreement between BCPB and the host institution as defined in 12.c). b) Further, under a)2) above, the Trustees reserve the right to reclaim from the host institution payments already made in the event that criminal proceedings are commenced. c) In all such cases, the host institution shall ensure that the Fellow ceases to call him or herself a BCPB Fellow.
10. Intellectual Property Rights
The host Institution agrees: a) to implement suitable processes and strategies for identifying, protecting, managing and exploiting Developments; b) to ensure that all persons working on activity connected with the Research Grant, including employees, students and third parties, are employed and engaged on terms that vest all rights in any Developments in the host Institution; c) to inform BCPB promptly as and when any Development is made which may be capable of registration as an intellectual property right; d) to consider with BCPB in good faith whether or not to register a Development which may be capable of registration; and, if it is decided to register a Development, to agree in good faith a strategy for protecting and exploiting the Development; e) not to publish Developments which may be capable of registration before it is decided whether or not to seek registration; and to ensure that the Fellow does not publish in such circumstances; f) not to enter into any arrangement to develop with a third party, exploit, transfer, license or otherwise deal in a Development or any intellectual property right in a Development without receiving the prior consent thereto from BCPB Trustees, who may require that the host Institution enters into an agreement with BCPB providing for the sharing of any benefits arising from the arrangement on a basis that fairly reflects the contribution of
BCPB to the funding of the Development in question: g) that if the host Institution does not protect, manage and exploit any Development to the reasonable satisfaction of BCPB, then BCPB has the right (but not a duty) to protect, manage and exploit such Developments. Normally this right will only be exercised six months after BCPB has given notice in writing to the host Institution that it is failing in this regard. The host Institution agrees to do, and will ensure that any persons working in connection with the Research Grant do, all acts required to assist BCPB in such protection and exploitation.
11. Publicity
In accepting a Fellowship grant from BCPB, the host institution agrees a) to require the Fellow to call himself, or herself, a BCPB Fellow.
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b) to require the Fellow to disseminate the results of the research through publications and presentations at meetings; and that the Fellow will acknowledge that his or her research has been supported wholly or in part by the British Council for Prevention of Blindness. c) to arrange for the Fellow to send details of any papers accepted for publication to BCPB. d) that it and the Fellow will co-operate with BCPB in any publicity or fundraising activities arising from the grant. e) to clear with BCPB in advance a draft of any press release it plans to make regarding the project.
12. Legal issues a) These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales. All matters relating to the Terms and Conditions will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. b) If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found by a court to be illegal, invalid or unreasonable, it will not affect the remaining Terms and Conditions which will continue in force. c) These Terms and Conditions, including the Information for Candidates and Applicants
2012 , together with any additional conditions set out in the Fellowship award letter and any subsequent undertakings, contain the whole agreement between BCPB and the host institution in relation to the Fellowship. d) BCPB and the host institution do not intend that the agreement referred to in 12.c), or any part, should be enforceable by any third party.
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Before any payment is made under a grant awarded under the Fellowship Programme, the
Fellow, Head of Department and Host Institution Administrator are required to sign this form.
I accept a Fellowship from the British Council for Prevention of Blindness and agree to abide by the terms of the agreement between BCPB and my host institution in relation to the
Fellowship: see 12.c) of the Terms and Conditions.
I have noted any differences in the level of grant awarded from the level requested in the application and I confirm that the work proposed can be carried out at this level of financial support.
I agree to advise the BCPB of any change to my status within my host institution or of any scientific or managerial issues that might affect the direction of the research or the administration of the award as soon as these occur.
Name (please print)………………………………………………………………………….
Signed……………………………………………Date………………………………………
I agree to the research approved by BCPB trustees when awarding the Fellowship being carried out in my department and that the facilities and support set out in the application will be available.
I have been advised of any differences in the level of grant awarded from the level requested and I confirm that, in my opinion, the work proposed can be carried out at this level of support.
I understand that I (or my successor) will be required to verify the research that has been carried out by signing the Final Report at the end of the grant.
Name (please print)………………………………………………………………………….
Signed…………………………………………… Date……………………………………..
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(eg Chief Executive or Head of Finance)
On behalf of the host institution, I accept the award of a grant and am authorised by the institution to accept the terms of the agreement between itself and BCPB in relation to the
Fellowship: see 12.c of the Terms and Conditions.
The host institution accepts responsibility for all legal and regulatory requirements including
Health and Safety requirements.
Name (please print)……………………………………………………………………………
Signed…………………………………………… (duly authorised signatory)
Date……………………………………
Position………………………………………… Institution………………………………
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